NCERT Solutions for Class 7th Social Science Chapter 19 Collective Responsibility Towards Infrastructure — LET’S EXPLORE

Book page 190 Updated on2026-09-19

Q1.

Create a ‘Community Responsibility Pact’ on the board or as a poster. Come up with ideas on how individuals can develop a sense of responsibility towards public infrastructure.

Answer

A pact works only if every line is something a Class 7 student can actually do. So write short promises in the first person, group them, and let the whole class sign at the bottom.

Method. Divide the board into four columns — Keep it clean · Use it properly · Report damage · Tell others. Let each group fill one column with three or four promises. Then copy the best on to chart paper with a title, a border and one drawing, and put it up where the class can see it every day.

Sample answer — OUR COMMUNITY RESPONSIBILITY PACT
Because roads, taps, buses, parks and school buildings belong to all of us, we promise:

Keep it clean. We will use the dustbin, never litter on the road or in the park, and never spit or write on walls, buses, benches or monuments.
Use it properly. We will close taps after use, switch off lights and fans when we leave a room, use the footpath and the zebra crossing, and stand in a queue at the ticket counter.
Do not damage. We will not break streetlights, tear posters, pull out plants, or scratch names on desks and station walls.
Report damage. If we see a pothole, an open manhole, a leaking pipe, a broken streetlight or an overflowing drain, we will tell a teacher, an elder, or the Panchayat or municipal office — as the chapter says, citizens should “report any damage to the authorities”.
Save water and power. We will report a leaking public tap the same day, because water wasted is water somebody else did not get.
Tell others. Each of us will explain this pact to one person at home and one friend outside school, and we will thank the sweepers, electricians and repair workers who look after our locality.

Signed by all students of Class VII, on ____________.

Why it happens: the chapter’s point is that damage to public infrastructure “reduces ease of living for people and becomes a burden for every citizen”. Nobody sends a private bill for a broken streetlight — the cost is paid out of public money that could have built something new. That is exactly why looking after it is called a collective responsibility.

Q2.

Can you think of ways in which infrastructure can become more sustainable around you? For example, what changes would you make to your school to make it more eco-friendly?

Answer

Yes — sustainable infrastructure means using cleaner energy and environment-friendly materials so that pollution and harm to biodiversity are kept to a minimum, which is how the chapter itself defines the goal. The book’s own example is solar panels on buildings to cut emissions.

Changes I would make to my school

Area	Change	What it saves
Energy	Solar panels on the roof; LED lights and ceiling fans; large windows so classrooms need no light by day	Electricity, and the emissions from producing it
Water	Rainwater harvesting from the roof into a recharge pit; taps that shut on their own; a plumber called the same day a tap leaks	Groundwater; a single dripping tap can waste hundreds of litres in a week
Waste	Separate green and blue bins; a compost pit for leaves and canteen waste; no single-use plastic in the canteen	Landfill space; the compost feeds the school garden
Grounds	More trees for shade, a small kitchen garden, permeable paving instead of full concrete	Heat, dust and rainwater run-off; birds and insects get a place
Travel	A cycle stand, safe walking paths to the gate, and a shared school bus rather than many separate vehicles	Fuel and traffic at the school gate
Access for all	A ramp beside the steps, a handrail, and one accessible toilet	Nothing — it adds: the chapter asks that design consider “the needs of children, the elderly and disabled persons”

Beyond the school, the same idea applies to the locality: solar street lights, covered drains, a working segregation system for waste, cycle tracks, and tree lines along roads.

Why it happens: infrastructure lasts for decades, so a choice made once — where a window goes, whether a roof carries solar panels, whether a ramp is built — keeps saving or wasting resources every single day for the whole life of the building. That is why it is far cheaper to design sustainably than to repair later.

Q3.

Write down a list of five problems you have observed and their possible solutions on a sheet and discuss in class.

Answer

Observe first, then write. Walk the route between your home and your school with a notebook and write down only what you actually see, with the place and the date. For each problem give who is affected, who can fix it, and what you yourself can do — that is what turns a complaint into a solution.

#	Problem observed	Who it affects	Possible solution
1	Potholes on the road near the bus stop; they fill with water in the rain	Two-wheeler riders, autos, the school bus; accidents happen at night	Report the exact spot to the municipal or Panchayat office with a photograph; ask for the stretch to be repaired before the monsoon and for a temporary warning marker meanwhile
2	Garbage lying beside the bins instead of inside them	Everyone nearby — flies, smell, stray animals, blocked drains	More and larger bins with lids, a fixed daily collection time, separate green and blue bins, and a class campaign on segregation
3	Three streetlights not working on the lane behind the market	Women, elderly people and children walking after dark	Report the pole numbers to the electricity office; ask for solar street lights, which keep working during power cuts
4	A public tap that leaks all day	The whole locality, especially in summer when supply is short	Inform the water supply office the same day; fit a self-closing tap; put up a small board asking users to close the tap
5	Names and drawings scratched on the wall of the bus stand and on desks	Everyone — it makes the place look neglected, and repainting costs public money	A cleaning drive by the class, a painted wall mural in place of the graffiti, and our Community Responsibility Pact displayed at the bus stand

For the class discussion: rank the five by how many people each problem affects and how quickly it can be solved. Take up the one that is high on both, write a short application together, and give it to the Panchayat or municipal office through your teacher.

Tip: Keep a “before” photograph. If the problem is solved, the “after” photograph is the best possible report on your work — and the best way to persuade the next class to try it.

Was this helpful?